A study surveyed adults with literacy problems and evaluated the Parents-as-Partners-as-Learners project. Eighty English-speaking adults in the eastern townships of Quebec, Canada, were interviewed concerning their literacy problems. Results indicated that health and social problems were identified by the adults as the major impediment to…

A year-long study examined the effects of a computer-based reading project on students' attitudes and performance in reading and writing. Subjects (73 "at-risk" eighth-grade students in an inner-city school in Paterson, New Jersey) were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group used a software package…

A study assessed the strengths, weaknesses, and degree of implementation of the reading dimension in the English Language Arts curriculum in grades 4, 8, and 11 of English language schools in Manitoba, Canada. At each grade, the student test assessed five major areas of reading performance. Assessment materials consisted of a student test, a…

This second edition focuses on helping the preservice teacher become an "Influential Reading Teacher," one whom students remember years later as a special teacher and person. The ideas and teaching strategies in the book actively involve preservice teachers in understanding and thinking about children's reading and writing development. New to this…

A study examined how two third-grade bilingual (Mexican-American) students resisted, appropriated, and/or internalized a whole language curriculum and the relationship between student interaction with and response to the whole language curriculum and their literacy development. Participant-observer ethnographic field notes recorded over an entire…

Eighty-three students enrolled in five graduate sections of educational research taught by the same instructor were administered a reading attitude scale and an educational research attitude scale. Under-graduate grade point averages (GPAs), entering graduate GPAs, and composite National Teacher Examination (NTE) scores were also obtained for the…

A questionnaire on reading was administered to every student in the St. Joseph, Missouri, "Rainbow" program for gifted and talented readers. The same questionnaire was administered to a cross sectional sample of fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students in regular classrooms in the same district. Among other things, results showed that (1) 75% of…

Intended not only for parents and teachers, but also for grandparents, siblings, and librarians, this handbook promotes reading aloud as a way to stimulate students' interest in reading and to improve their reading achievement. Following an introduction and first chapter that stress the value of reading aloud, the book's second chapter explains…

"Now Johnny CAN Learn to Read" is an easy-to-read book intended for anyone involved in helping others learn to read. An initial section of the book focuses on how to make reading a socially stimulating, successful activity. In this section, viewpoints are shared from a child and a parent, and a reading specialist tells of the successes…

A study tested a questioning technique for teaching critical thinking strategies in a class with student-selected reading materials. Teacher modeling, class discussion, writing, and reading were connected in the process. The pre-test and posttest included student-generated questions and character sketches. Quality of the pre- and posttest…

A study was conducted to address the problem of all students not learning to read in the same manner when the instruction was limited to only one approach, that of the basal reader with its phonics emphasis. The Reading Style Inventory, the Swassing-Barbe Modality Index, and the Bradway Quick Check were administered to the students attending the…

The perceptions of Mississippi parents and teachers about reading success were studied through surveys about reading programs that emphasize parental involvement. The 19-item Parent Survey Questionnaire (PSQ), which was developed for the study, was administered to 44 parents; it asked them to describe their attitudes toward reading and the types…

A study examined the relative comprehension difficulty and the influence of reader and text characteristics on reading comprehension for texts presented in traditional print or on the microcomputer screen. Two urban samples of mixed ethnicity were used, 95 low reading level high school students (grades 9 through 12) and 112 high ability eighth…

A study compared the effects of two instructional strategies on ninth grade students' reading comprehension, retention, and attitude. Students in 15 ninth-grade classes were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: summary writing (SW), writing short answers to questions (QA), and rereading (RR), (control). The dependent measures were good…

Learning difficult literary concepts (such as point of view, symbolism, or internal monologue) while reading difficult and often unfamiliar content prematurely places too many demands upon middle school and high school students. Young adult literature allows students to address the demands of a new concept while reading more familiar content. One…